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HDTV Programming / Show Reviews / Law & Order; Law & Order Criminal Intent; Law & Order Special Victims Unit /
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Law & Order; Law & Order: Criminal Intent; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Roger Meyers
03/01/2005
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Produced by: Wolf Films in association with NBC
Universal Television Studio
Network: NBC
Scheduled Time: L&O–Wednesday, 10 p.m.; L&O:
CI–Sunday, 10 p.m.; L&O: SVU–Tuesday, 10 p.m.
Reviewed on: KNBC Los Angeles, CA
Channel: 4.1
(36 digital)
 Law & Order would have to be considered one of the most successful shows on
TV, and until CBS comes out with CSI 4:(fill in the city), it is also one of the
most prolific. The original series has been running since 1990, and has spawned
two successful spin-off shows: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) and
Law & Order: Criminal Intent. A fourth series, Law & Order: Trial by
Jury, is scheduled to start next year.
 Discussing the “original” Law and
Order is similar to reminiscing about the band Yes. The series has had as many
cast changes as it has had seasons on the air, and many late- additions are more
responsible for the show’s character than the original season’s cast. With the
passing of long-running regular Jerry Orbach, who enlivened the series as
Detective Lennie Briscoe, Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy,
played by Sam Waterston, inherits the mantle as longest-running character.
The show’s formula is pretty basic—a half-hour of cops and robbers drama
mixed with a half-hour of courtroom drama. The general feel of the original show
is carried over, with some modification, to the other shows, as well.
Special Victims Unit storylines, for example, are more disturbing as they
focus on sex crimes. They also have less courtroom exposure. Criminal Intent
spends more time delving into the criminal’s perspective and motives.
 All
three shows are presented in high definition with 5.1 digital sound and have the
same look and feel. The streets of New York come across vibrant and clear in a
way that fits the shows’ gritty styles and subject matters. It just won’t be
something you’d use to show off your high-definition system like the candy-store
colors of WB’s Smallville.
The image is also sharp, but not exceptionally
so, appearing to be shot on film, or made to look like it is.
The soundtrack
is the biggest disappointment. The reverberant ambience of
various crime scenes, traffic and general city noises could easily add dimension
to the experience. Instead we are left with a predominantly two-channel
presentation. Hopefully NBC will remix the soundtracks when they are forced to
spin off an entire network just to handle the L&O franchise.
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